The New York Public Library and the American Academy in Rome Announce Collaboration to Support Global Scholarship in the Humanities

Media Contacts: The New York Public Library - Amy Geduldig / amygeduldig@nypl.org
American Academy in Rome - Andrew Mitchell / a.mitchell@aarome.org and Rachel Judlowe / Rachel@judlowe.com

JANUARY 20, 2022—The New York Public Library (NYPL) and the American Academy in Rome (AAR) announced today a new collaboration to advance scholarship in the arts and humanities and to partner on virtual and in-person programming events, including lectures, readings, performances, and concerts. Visiting and resident artists, writers and scholars at the American Academy in Rome will have opportunities to virtually access NYPL’s extensive  research collections to support their work while in Rome or when visiting New York City. The first joint programming event is being planned for spring and will feature a discussion around ethics in public art. 

The two organizations have a longstanding commitment to advance knowledge and promote the humanities and creative endeavors through independent study in quiet and inspiring spaces and locations. With more than 45 million items available for research including books, manuscripts, photographs, prints, maps, ephemera, audio and recorded sound, and a growing digital collection, NYPL is renowned for the extraordinary comprehensiveness of its historical collections as well as its commitment to providing free and equal access to its resources and facilities. This access will add to and complement the current collection of 167,000 volumes at AAR’s Arthur & Janet C. Ross Library, one of the premier research libraries in Rome.

“There is a natural affinity between the Library and the American Academy in Rome as both organizations are committed to facilitating and strengthening research in the humanities, creative writing, and artistic innovation. And we are excited to collaborate with them on new opportunities to foster a dynamic exchange of knowledge and ideas,” said William Kelly, NYPL’s Andrew W. Mellon Director of the Research Libraries.

“This partnership with one of the world's great research institutions opens a stunning network of resources for the scholars and artists at the American Academy in Rome,” said Mark Robbins, AAR President and CEO. “We look forward to joint programming with NYPL, as part of a series of collaborative initiatives that reinforce the significance of the arts and humanities today."

Many of The New York Public Library's research collections and services will be available to the artists and scholars remotely, from personalized email consultations with research curators and librarians  to remote access to its online research databases and digitized collections. AAR residents will also have access to the Library’s electronic document delivery service, Scan & Deliver, which allows cardholders to request selections from books or articles from scholarly journals, and the Library will scan and deliver them via email. The scanning service also applies to the Shared Collection, a joint initiative that combines millions of items from the extensive research collections of The New York Public Library, Columbia University, Princeton University, and Harvard University—members of the Research Collections and Preservation Consortium (ReCAP)—in one catalog allowing patrons from all four institutions to search the catalog and request scans. 

About The New York Public Library
For over 125 years, The New York Public Library has been a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With 92 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars, and has seen record numbers of attendance and circulation in recent years. The New York Public Library receives approximately 16 million visits through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support. 

About American Academy of Rome
Founded in 1894, the American Academy in Rome is a leading international center for independent study and advanced research in the arts and humanities. A not-for-profit, privately funded institution, AAR annually offers the Rome Prize Fellowship and Italian Fellowships to a select group of artists and scholars, after an application process that begins each fall. The winners, selected by independent juries through a national competition process, are invited to Rome the following year to pursue their work in an atmosphere conducive to intellectual and artistic experimentation and interdisciplinary exchange. Fellowships are offered in the following categories: literature, musical composition, visual arts, architecture, landscape architecture, design, and historic preservation and conservation, as well as ancient studies, medieval studies, Renaissance and early modern studies, and modern Italian studies. To date, AAR has fueled critical thinking, research, and work for over 1,700 artists and scholars who are leaders in their fields and whose rich and significant output continues to fill museums, concert halls, libraries, and universities across the United States and around the world.